Everton Secures Premier League Win Against Crystal Palace

Everton shook off an early scare, the weight of last season and five years of opening-day frustration to beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium – and finally start a Premier League campaign with a win.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry delivered the goals, one either side of half-time, to give David Moyes his first league victory in eight attempts and Everton their earliest success in a new season since Rafa Benitez oversaw a 3-1 win against Southampton in August 2021.

It felt overdue. It also felt significant.

Palace waste chances, Everton strike

Before kick-off, Palace were already handicapped. Ismaila Sarr, their 21-goal top scorer from last season and the driving force behind their Conference League triumph, stayed at home. Pierre Sage, fresh from his impressive work with RC Lens, chose not to include the forward in his squad as speculation over a move to Galatasaray rumbled on.

Within four minutes, Sage knew exactly what he was missing.

Jean-Philippe Mateta, unmarked in the box after Eddie Nketiah pounced on a weak James Tarkowski header, lashed over when he had time and space to pick his spot. A huge chance. Wasted.

Everton woke up.

Eight minutes later, Dewsbury-Hall threaded a clever pass into makeshift right-back Merlin Röhl, pushed higher than usual, and his cut-back found Iliman Ndiaye. The finish lacked conviction, straight at Dean Henderson, but the intent from the hosts was clear.

The game then swung wildly. Palace hit the woodwork twice, Nketiah and Mateta both denied by the frame of Jordan Pickford’s goal as Sage watched on in disbelief. The visitors moved the ball sharply, pressed with energy, and for long spells looked the more likely to score.

Then the punishment arrived.

Three minutes before the break, Dewsbury-Hall took aim from the edge of the area and drilled a precise strike into the far corner. A clean hit. A ruthless moment. Everton, second best for much of the half, walked down the tunnel in front.

Barry doubles up, Palace unravel

Any Palace hope of a measured response after half-time evaporated almost immediately.

Eight minutes into the second half, Ndiaye produced a vicious, teasing cross from the left. Barry attacked it, darting across his marker and thumping a header past Henderson from close range. 2-0. The kind of goal that turns an edgy afternoon into something far more comfortable.

From there, Everton grew into their new surroundings in a way they rarely managed last season.

On the eve of the campaign, Moyes had likened Hill Dickinson Stadium to a room in a new house with only the wallpaper up – impressive to look at, but not yet lived in. Six wins from 19 league games last year backed him up. The place never quite felt like home.

This, though, felt different. Not flawless, not serene, but controlled. Pickford produced a couple of outstanding saves to protect the lead, Dewsbury-Hall knitted midfield and attack with authority, and Everton – still without a natural right-back – found a way through a tricky contest.

Palace’s afternoon deteriorated further when defender Chadi Riad was carried off on a stretcher midway through the second half after what appeared to be a serious knee injury. The mood around the away end darkened. The optimism of a new era under Sage met the harsh edge of the Premier League in one brutal afternoon.

A brutal welcome for Sage

By full-time, Sage stood on the touchline, shoulders heavy, watching his players trudge away. He becomes the 15th manager to lose his first Premier League match in charge of Crystal Palace, and the manner of it will sting.

His side carved out enough chances to change the narrative. On another day – with Sarr on the pitch, or with the post a fraction kinder – Palace could have been the ones dancing in front of their fans. Instead, the story was of fine margins, missed opportunities and a scoreboard that showed none of their early promise.

For all their recent glory – three trophies in the past year, including the FA Cup – Palace always looked likely to hit a period of transition after Oliver Glasner’s departure. Maxence Lacroix has gone, Sarr may yet follow before the window closes, and the spine that carried them through 2025 and 2026 is being reshaped on the fly.

Replicating that success now will be a serious challenge.

Everton, meanwhile, walked off to something they have craved for too long at their new home: noise mixed with belief. One win does not define a season, but with the transfer window still open and Moyes eyeing one or two more additions, this felt like more than just three points.

It felt like a house finally starting to feel lived in.